Carolinas HealthCare System NorthEast News

“We’re very proud to receive this national distinction, which recognizes our excellence in providing safe, effective, high-quality care to our community.”

Phyllis WingatePresidentCMC-NorthEast

Carolinas Medical Center-NorthEast, part of Carolinas HealthCare System, has been named a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures by The Joint Commission in recognition of its exemplary clinical performance in multiple specialties. The designation recognizes hospitals for attaining excellence in using evidence-based processes that are shown to improve care. This distinction places CMC-NorthEast among the top 33 percent of all Joint Commission-accredited hospitals that reported accountability measure performance data for 2012.

“We’re committed to providing exceptional care based on the highest clinical standards,” said Phyllis Wingate, president of CMC-NorthEast. “We’re very proud to receive this national distinction, which recognizes our excellence in providing safe, effective, high-quality care to our community.”

CMC-NorthEast was recognized for achievement in several measure sets: heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care and children’s asthma. To be named as a Top Performer, the hospital achieved the highest levels of performance in providing evidence-based care for the named measure sets. Evidence-based practices include giving aspirin at arrival for heart attack patients, giving antibiotics one hour before surgery, and providing a home management plan of care for children with asthma. “We know that evidence-based processes lead to better care and, ultimately, to better patient outcomes,” said Dan Hagler, MD, chief medical officer of CMC-NorthEast. “Our patients benefit from care that adheres to rigorous and proven clinical guidelines.” CMC-NorthEast also maintains Joint Commission certifications for disease-specific care, distinctions that recognize the hospital’s compliance with rigorous national standards for quality and safety. CMC-NorthEast currently holds these prestigious certifications for advanced inpatient diabetes, childbirth, heart failure, epilepsy and advanced stroke care.

Across North Carolina, 33 hospitals – including Carolinas HealthCare System facilities CMC-Mercy, CMC-Pineville, CMC-Lincoln and CMC-Union – were named to the Joint Commission’s Top Performer list this year. They were among 1,099 hospitals recognized this year.

CMC-NorthEast adds this distinction to a growing list of national recognitions received in 2013, including the Outstanding Patient Experience Award and the designation as one of America’s best 100 hospitals for stroke care, both given by Healthgrades.